Syria on the cusp of civil war

LONDON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The situation in Syria, with mounting military defections and a rising death toll, is bearing the signs of civil war, a critic of the Damascus regime said.

Damascus is facing increased isolation following months of unrest that left more than 3,500 people dead according to the latest figures from the United Nations. The McClatchy news service, in a review of reports from the official Syrian Arab News Agency, reports that at least 100 security forces were killed in the country since November.

Syrian rebels this week fighting for the so-called Free Syrian Army attacked a military intelligence facility as the number of defections continues to rise in the country.

Ramie Abel Rahman, a representative at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told the news agency from London Syrians are starting to take matters into their own hands.

"When you see what's going on in Syria now, you see a civil war in the future," he said. "The Syrian regime keeps killing people and no one's protecting these people. In the end, the people have to protect themselves."

Damascus, SANA reports, offered a series of amendments to a proposal drafted by the Arab League in response to the violence. The Arab bloc suspended Damascus after the regime let a deadline pass without doing anything to halt the bloodshed.

SANA blames foreign elements and domestic terrorists for much of the violence.